RAM, Justice Adams, Robersons: Stages of growth

Two writing projects featuring three bands have converged on this column.

Tonight at the Outland, the loud and bold rockers of RAM will unveil their second recording, an EP titled “Empire.”

A dual-album-release event Saturday at The Regency will feature nationally recognized The Brothers Roberson and the high-profile Justice Adams Band. Each act will perform its own mix of country and rock.

The three bands, in various stages of development, have distinct goals and strategies.

The Brothers Roberson

Rhett and Brendan Roberson grew up in the Ozarks hearing the country music of their parents, and now the brothers are branching out with their new album, “The Cold.”

“It might not even come across as country if it wasn’t for lyrical content and using the steel guitar,” Rhett Roberson said, describing a sound “that would lean more toward indie rock in the guitar parts, but still with traditional country themes.”

“This is the first time we geared (an album) to what we want it to be, rather than what we thought might work for Nashville, what might work here, what might work there.”

Several provided album tracks are love songs with a soothing feel.

The brothers, who live in the Springfield area, reached the finals of the 2012 Country Showdown, and, at the 2014 finals, they won it all. Last year, they signed with a manager and an agent, both in Nashville.

Rhett Roberson said he’s pleased to perform at The Regency, a venue he was not old enough to enter in its first incarnation.

These players enjoy themselves as they make music, which in turn makes listeners enjoy themselves as well. They live up to their motto, “We are country. We are rock ’n’ roll,” and their new album, “Along the Way,” finds the right mix, lead vocalist Adam Schoeller said.

“We’re right in the sweet spot of what we do really well. We really figured it out,” he said. “It’s more honest. It’s more us. It’s more real. It’s just got a little more life to it. A little more lift. A little more energy.”

They also are serious about fulfilling commitments and seizing opportunities. Schoeller said they have performed three times at the Gillioz Theatre, and each invitation came up with 48-72 hours notice.

“We try to stay prepared. We try to keep writing. We just don’t stop working,” he said.

This band, with brothers Jacob and Ryan Conti among the quartet, is highly interpersonal and hyper-local in many ways:

• Dad-sponsored Conti-Fest: Halloween evenings on the Conti driveway in Battlefield, six years running, and RAM, for the past three, returning to the homestead pavement with more and more fans.

• Playing at food drives, this year driving their own food drive, RamItInACan.

• Broadening the base at the Outland complex, Shrine Mosque and Carnival of Ink.

“It comes from personally contacting people we know, actually meeting people at the shows,” Jacob Conti said. “Going up to people after we play and talking to them, and making sure we talk to people we haven’t seen before. That’s really been a big push for us,” Jacob Conti said.